I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of cable coupling, and in particular to a hermaphroditic coupling mechansim for a cable contact arrangement.
II. Description of Related Art
It is known to provide electrical cables with contacts which may be easily fitted together in order to electrically connect the cables. An example of an especially convenient cable contact is the "pin and socket" contact. The pin and socket contact permits connection of two cables by simply sliding a pin on one cable into a socket on the other. One type of widely used pin and socket contact, is the "twinax" contact which is used to connect cables carrying two electrical wires surrounded by a common jacket.
Because it is desirable to design such contacts to be as simple as possible, many of the conventional pin and socket contact arrangements lack any sort of latching mechanism. This is completely satisfactory for uses in which no strain is placed on the cables in a direction which would cause the contacts to be pulled apart. However, for many applications, some type of latching mechanism is required in order to prevent the contacts from pulling apart. The most common means of providing this latching mechanism is by trapping the contact inside an elaborate connector. The connector then provides the mating and unmating mechanism as well as the latching mechanism.
While specially designed contacts are known which include a strain relief or latching mechanism, there is a need for a strain relief or latching mechanism which may be retrofitted onto conventional pin and socket contacts of the type which do not include a latch.
Most conventional coupling mechanisms use asymmetrical "male" and "female" coupling members. However, use of male and female coupling members doubles the number of different parts required, and may cause problems due to the impossibility of coupling members of the same sex.
In order to solve the problems inherent in using sexed couplers or connectors, hermaphroditic or sexless coupling mechanisms are known. Nevertheless, hermaphroditic coupling mechanisms which may be easily retrofitted onto conventional contacts have so far not been developed, thus limiting application of the known hermaphroditic couplers.